Curse

Ascension · Jul 20, 2005, 01:19 AM // 01:19

Note :: A) A long read. B) It doesn't matter if any/all of this has been said before, it's needed in the game and hasn't been dealt with yet. C) I tried to stay away from issues already being known (annonced) to be dealt with.

---Quick Summary---

->Officer Chat.
->Custimiazable Ranks.
->Option to disable the member time display.
->Enable "Busy" and "Away" tags on the Guild Pannel.
->Enchanced "Guild Status" option for Leader/Officers (toggled for Officers).
->Option to enable "Mission Status" in your GH, to display level/profession.
<>
->Merchants in GH.
->Storage in the GH.

---Body---

The industry standard of Guild Support is not quite being met yet. Although it's an MMOPRG, the excuse of "we're not that fully" is a disappointing one at best. What comes freely with the leading game (WoW for most intensive purposes) shouldn't be expted to be purchased as a "gold sink" in GW. Most of these areas have already been met (Annoncements is a great example, 255 characters rocks!), but some need tweaking.

A prime, inter-game, example would be the lack of Officer chat and custimizable guild rankings (number of and name of the ranks).

Refering to Guild Wars, the Xunlai can travel through Ascension and to Hell - why can't they appear in your Guild Hall? Do you think there's good business in Hell, if so - there's more to be had at a Guild Hall. Think about it for a second, if you can have level 10 merchants after Ascension - I think you can spare some people pedaling their wares in your Hall.

Past conviences, there's the mechanics. Officer chat is the leading example, but there's the Friends List Notification. The tags that are on the Friends List pannel do not work on the Guild pannel. If it'd display the "Busy" and "Away" tags, it'd save hours on a Guild Leader's part from trying to talk to AFK people. Continuing with mechanics, the time display option should be able to be disabled by the Leader. For some guilds, this can be very destructive. The last important mechanics issue is the Guild Status page, there should be one available to the Leader, as well as one available (at a toggle) to Officers. It would display a total member number, as well as who has left the guild (not just been kicked). These are all conditional on Custimize Ranking system, in that case you could just toggle what ranks could view this page/have access to officer chat. Even for rankings, an option would be to allow up to a certain set number (e.g. 3-5), allowing for name custization/activation for each of the 5 levels. The final mechanical idea is enabling "Mission Status" in your GH, allowing for lvl/profession to be displayed like any mission. This would be more effective for getting ready for GvG or grouping in general.

*Intra-Guild practise is already being dealt with, so there's no point in going into depth.
*There hasn't been a set annoncement for Merchants/Storage, but I have a bad feeling they will be gold sinks. This is OK, as it'd make sense to pay for the service. It just needs to be dealt with soon.

---Conclusion---

Hopefully the people who need to will read this thread, as this is an example of why I have second thoughts to basing my new guild out of WoW - because there's a solid Guild Suppot aspect there. Also, most of these are popular ideas - and GW needs to keep the interest of it's players. I know many, many people who are now using GW as a secondary game because it can't keep interest. IMO, the best way to keep interest is through a guild. If the guild is being held back by shear mechanics, that'll limit it's influence - it's draw - on players.

It's called Guild Wars. Guild is in the name, so there must be good Guild Support ... It can't be allowed to be made a pathetic irony.

Although quite negative, maybe that's needed to realize how wicked this game can become and stop people from getting bored and walking off. Thanks for reading,

-Ascension

MoldyRiceFrenzy · Jul 20, 2005, 02:12 AM // 02:12

nice write up, wow i never even thought of custimization of guild ranks Nice ideas dude.

Aniewiel · Jul 20, 2005, 02:42 AM // 02:42

Agreed. The custom ranks are nice as is the officer communications part of the write up.

Once again I would advocate to have this part of an "upgrade" package. Think of it as a gold sink. Want an all guild storage locker? 1 bazillion gp. Want officer communications? 1trillion gp.

You get the idea and it gives guilds something to work on -together- which is the ostensible goal of GW in the first place.

Ascension · Jul 20, 2005, 02:47 AM // 02:47

Gold sinks are great, but not for basic mechanics. I don't care about Merchants/Storage to buy, that's fine. But the basics of games out today? GW Guild Support is at the level of Wc3 right now ... i.e. a novelty gag + capes/hall.

Liante · Jul 20, 2005, 04:18 AM // 04:18

It'd be cool to add a section that shows the location and district of all guild members so you can meet up with them or suprise 'em... lol

Lampshade · Jul 20, 2005, 04:29 AM // 04:29

w00t

Nice productive post I agree 100%

Aniewiel · Jul 20, 2005, 04:36 AM // 04:36

It's true that your ideas don't have to be a sink. Maybe, however, they should be a reward after a guild shows activity and longevity? Let's face it, there are a LOT of 1-guy guilds out there or "flavored guild of the week" groups that are here one day and gone the next. I wouldn't necessarily say that the features you're speaking of are basic necessities but they sure are NICE for the guilds that earn them and would actually use them.

Nice post and worth a LOT of attention from ANet!

Ascension · Jul 20, 2005, 04:14 PM // 16:14

Should you play for 400 hours before the game fixes your lag? Defienently not, it's basic mechanics of the game that should be there. Should you have to pay for what has now been a set standard that is again part of the mechanics of the game? No. Gold sinks are for convienence/luxury - not the fabric of the game itself.

Talesin Darkbriar · Jul 20, 2005, 04:21 PM // 16:21

Let me say I agree with most of the OP's views. Some nice ideas there Ascension.
Secondly, I'm thinking what's the harm done Aniewiel? Yes, we have guilds that come and go daily, yes we have guilds of 1 person all over the place.

The suggestions Ascension makes should be implemented as tools available to any and all Guilds - not just those that show longevity. It would positively reinforce folks to create and sustain Guilds.

Talesin

Ascension · Jul 20, 2005, 06:17 PM // 18:17

The majority of these ideas would be possible to just modify existing avenues.

-Chats can be toggled, so why can't officer chat be enabled just for Leader/Officers.
-Ranks had to be set upon creation, Anet could make a tool that allows the Leader to recreate that process.
-An option under the advanced guild status could be made to toggle time display on/off.
-That advanced guild staus pannel could be modified from the existing one, and made to be it's own pannel.
-They enabled mission status in mission areas, they could find a way to add that option to your GH.

None of these should be payed for, as they involve the mechanics of the game. 50 plat to fix invisible walls anyone? :P